HAPPY MARRIAGE

Ha ha ha...fooled you all again.  No, I not going to be handing out marriage advice.  Instead the marriage I am referring to is the one between comfort and style in footwear.  If you think maintaining a healthy relationship requires hard work, try finding a cute comfy pair of shoes or boots.  Now that truly requires patience, persistence and flexibility.

While walking across campus this morning I realized my feet did not hurt thanks to my new Wolky Dazzle shoes.  Are you familiar with this brand?  They are sold in speciality shoe stores in larger cities as well as on line (zappos.com and planetshoes.com to name two).  They offer removable foot beds, good arch support  and a fair amount of cushioning (I now feel about 85 years old, I wish I was instead telling you about the heel height on my new stilettos).

These are some footwear styles/brands I recommend:

Wolky Dazzle

Ecco Hobart

Munro American Grace

I am always on the lookout for shoes that I can wear.  What are the hidden gems in footwear you can share with all of us?

ACCESSORIES

While getting dressed for work this morning I tried on 3 different necklaces and several bracelets. As much as I like statement pieces of jewelry, I also want my look to have at least a small element of tastefulness.  I often reflect on the words of Coco Chanel who famously said "Before you leave the house, take one thing off".   Thus if I have a big necklace then my earrings are usually small and the only item on my wrist is a watch (a gift from my sons that I wear every single day).  If I wear a large sparkly bracelet like my current fave from JCrew http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/jewelry/bracelets/PRDOVR~48738/48738.jsp then I tone down other accessories in my outfit that day.

I own so many scarves you would think I wear one every single day.  I do not.  It seems in spite of having approximately 20 in various sizes and colors, I often do not have just the "right" one and end up just eliminating a scarf all together when none match the vision I have in my mind. 

Once my alarm clock goes off in the morning I try to spend at least 5 minutes waking up and planning my outfit for the day.  If nothing feels right I do have several things that are my "fall back" items; clothing that is comfortable, flattering I hope and easy to accessorize.

What are your favorite accessories?  

FRIDAY FANCIES

For one of the many fabulous holiday parties you will be attending.  A girl has to plan ahead.

 I love everything about this dress, especially the big bow in the back

BHLDN.com

 

 

Sparkles are always appropriate

The shoulder chain allows your hands to be free to hold your champagne

FRIDAY FANCIES

The leaves seem especially colorful this fall, the mornings are becoming quite cool and so it feels like a good time to share some more fall wardrobe faves:

Fabulous sweater from Anthropologie, very versatile

A boot belt (Anthropologie) would totally update last years boots

Nordstroms offers leather fingerless gloves; could this be your nod to the very popular leather trend?

JCrew offers this coat in such stunning colors

SAVING CLOSET ORPHANS FROM THE DONATION BOX

The second meeting of the Fashion Club was held on October 5th at Talbots with 14 women in attendance.   Our topic was Closet Orphans; clothing  items that hang in your closet unworn because you are unsure of how to style them. The stylists at Talbots provided many ideas on new and different ways to wear our closet orphans using clothing that members brought from their own closets.  Everyone was amazed by Talbot stylists Cathy and Joan's creativity in putting together colors, fabrics and prints.   The presentation started off with a yellow jacket that I had picked as one of my favorite pieces from the new fall collection (jacket below).  Cathy and Joan  showed us how the jacket can be worn for a casual or dressy style.  Each look was totally different all while using the same jacket.  They proceeded to do the same with tweed pants while also explaining the different pant fits Talbots offers.  Moving onto closet orphans we saw them transform a light green/creme/grey wool jacket into a wardrobe foundation piece by pairing it with a great grey cotton sweater and grey pants.   An animal print pullover sweater was updated  by putting a crisp white blouse under it and popping the collar and cuffs. A patent leather bow belt in either black or the unexpected pink would add another dimension to the look.  A crepe accordion pleated black skirt with an attached pink gross grain belt was instantly transformed from an orphan to a "cannot wait to wear it" w/the simple addition of a white blouse (the one they recommended had pearl buttons which just added a extra special touch to the outfit) that highlighted the pink belt and pleats in the skirt. Another member brought in a brown/white/black tweed vest with fur trim that she had in her closet for at least a year and had never worn.  It was paired with a simple black sweater dress with 3/4 sleeves and became a stunning look. A member pointed out it could also go over a more casual chocolate brown cotton dress for a totally different but equally wearable look.  We learned not only how to wear our own closet orphans but also new ways to wear many other wardrobe pieces, both old and new. 

Talbots mustard yellow jacket

Talbots pants, Hollywood fit

FRIDAY FANCIES

Great thoughts;

 

DRESSING FOR MY REAL LIFE

When I shop I often pick up items and say "If I was 25 and size 6 and lived in a big city, I would totally wear this".  But I am none of those things so who the heck am I shopping for?  Definitely not my life as a middle aged woman who works in a  relaxed environment with college students in a small town in IN.  I do not need more sparkly tops or sweaters, I do not need more statement pieces of jewelry and I do not need another faux fur coat.  What I do need are some jackets that have seams in the waist area, pants that fit that are not black, jeans that fit and are flattering (not convinced such an item exists but here's hoping) and shoes that are comfortable and stylish (another item I do not believe actually exists, especially in my price range).
I believe we shop for things we feel comfortable with.  This is why I have a so many skirts and dresses but only 1 pair of black pants in my closet.  I hate the way I look in pants and find them so difficult to fit that I just avoid the whole experience.  Same story with jeans for me.  As several friends will confirm I am not afraid of shopping for shoes, just very discouraged.  Of course I love high heels and platforms and cute little adornments on my shoes  but that is not practical for walking across campus or strolling through the grocery store or an 8 hour shopping trip down Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  
I also see this trend in reverse.  Many women seem to have just "given up" and wear the same clothing whether they at home or at work.  Elastic waist acrylic pants, tennis shoes and sweatshirts are not appropriate for a professional environment. 


We need to honestly look at our closets and find clothing that fits, flatters and is appropriate for many varied roles we all find ourselves in every single day.